It was dark out.
Dark enough for someone who, say, wanted to go on a secret covert operation, would want to work with.
Uzumaki Naruto, or rather; his clone, was on such a mission.
The corporeal copy of the enigmatic blond was currently wearing a plain dark shirt paired with dark pants, as well as a bandanna that covered his face and a dark beanie to shroud his hair.
Why was he wearing such clothing?
As he has stated; because he was on a top secret mission, duh.
That being said, he knew damn well that the dark clothing and the items that were used to shroud his face weren't necessary, he could infiltrate almost anywhere with very little trouble.
Nah, they were mostly there just to make him feel more 'official'.
...That, or maybe he was letting the popular imagination of what a 'shinobi' was get to him.
Either of those reasonings could work, frankly.
It didn't really matter in the end, since the end result was going to be the same anyway.
The blond was going to successfully infiltrate the Student Council's work space, and...make some changes to something within it's confines.
Something that he knew that the orderly student council president would keep for her own personal use, probably to reference and follow to the letter.
The book that outlined all of the school's rules and regulations.
If someone were to look at him, they'd see the dark grin that were splitting his features as he jumped high into the sky, blending in with the night sky before the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon.
Hopefully his real self was actually working while he was getting the goods...
Naruto had almost fell back to sleep as soon as he made his clone.
Thankfully, the shinobi had enough self discipline to drag himself out of his own home before he fell into temptation, aware that a part of him, deep inside, wasn't exactly raring to go.
Because, frankly, what he was about to do could have certain...implications.
Implications that he wasn't ready to deal with just yet.
Still, it was something that he had to do.
Sprinting across the empty streets of Kuoh Town, wearing nothing but a simple orange tank top and black sweatpants, the teen moved without a care, knowing damn well that people weren't largely awake yet to start their normal days.
Thus, he could move freely, and as quickly as he wanted.
Good, because he wasn't going to half ass or slow down.
He just wasn't in the mood for it.
Blurring across the sizable settlement, he made sure that the nice and properly planned buildings of Kuoh Town began to shift into the slightly dilapidated version of those prior buildings.
One that surrounded a familiar building.
Landing softly right before a large electric fence, Naruto raised his bowed head to face the rundown factory that stood at the absolute edge of Kuoh Town.
Once upon a time, this area was probably an industrial zone that had been abandoned, left here to rot as those who worked here moved onto other better things.
The last time he was here, he had pretty much kidnapped a certain fallen angel and interrogated her, and then got attacked by her allies, leading to the eventual fight that broke out in that abandoned church.
Hmm. Good times.
Thankfully, given the complete lack of activity, he'd say that people had finally stopped giving the site any attention after an eye-catching explosion had drawn the local police and news people there.
Which was just what the young man wanted.
Flipping over the electric fence that he had completely ignored the last time he was here, Naruto sprinted inside the abandoned factory, finding a spot that gave him ample room to work with.
It was when he reached the center of that decaying building, where there was a large opening in the roof that allowed for light to reach inside, where Naruto finally stopped.
Breathing in, he made sure to double check if there really was no one around him that could see what he was about to do.
...
No one. Great.
Breathing out now, the shinobi hesitantly raised his thumb to his mouth, opening his jaws to bite down onto his digit, prepared to draw blood.
'Why else would anyone leave home?'
His blue eyes hardened, his resolve pushing back against the bit of hesitance that was plaguing him as he reached this spot.
Bringing his canines together, making sure that a bit of skin was in-between their contact, he flashed through some hand signs as blood dripped from his open wound.
Cerulean flashing, Naruto slammed his hand onto the ground, focusing chakra onto it, an explosion of smoke cloaking him and his surroundings as his jutsu went into effect.
Swiping away at the smoke, he zeroed in on the spot where he placed his hand, awaiting for the toad, knowing damn well that he put enough to meet with one that understood him.
Expression stony, he had gotten just what he had wanted.
At the epicenter of the artificially made cloud, emerged a small toad, blinking at him with it's bar-like irises.
It tilted it's head, obviously not really recognizing him. "Who are you?"
Naruto smiled softly. "...Yo. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm looking for Sage Jii-chan."
The small toad regarded him, blinking owlishly. "...Sage Jii-chan?"
Smiling just a bit larger than before, the shinobi decided to clarify himself. "Heh, sorry, I forgot that not everyone knows about my nicknames. It's actually been a while since I've used them, ya know? Forcing myself to sound formal when I first came to this world, just so that I could attract less attention was really tough dattebayo. Anyway, you probably know him as Fukasaku; of the Nidaisengama. (Two Great Sage Toads)
He hit the jackpot.
His words made the small amphibian's eyes widen so much that they nearly fell right out of their sockets, really.
It was kinda funny actually.
"Eh!? Wait, actually, I think that I remember Fukasaku-jii-chan saying something about a lost summoner..." the toad mentioned after recovering from his shock, squinting as it tried to recall.
Surging forth, getting right into the amphibian's face, Naruto's eyes became intense, looking like he was trying to dig the information right through the little guy's head. "What? What did he say? Come on, I'm sure that Sage Jii-chan must've said something to everyone by now!"
Nonplussed by it's summoner's lack of personal space, the animal squirmed on the spot, uncomfortable. "Well...I think that he said something about reverse-summoning..."
Heart beating faster, the blond leaned just a tad closer, his eyes digging even deeper to the toad.
But he would just as quickly deflate at what the amphibian would say next.
"...But then claim that it was almost impossible, or something like that."
Naruto felt cheated at that very moment.
"W-? What does he mean by that?" the shinobi questioned with disbelief plainly written on his features. "Impossible? It can't be impossible!"
Horizontal bars that replaced normal irises gazed upon him. "...I...I think he mentioned something about it costing too much chakra to be...uh...'feasible'? Feedable? I'm not too sure which big word he used..."
By that point, the toad's summoner was completely ignoring the child's floundering in remembering difficult words.
His mind was racing far too fast to deal with the little guy, trying to grasp the implications that he has just heard.
Too much chakra...
Not feasible.
...Now that Naruto thought about it, how much chakra did it cost him just to get this small toad to...wherever the hell he was?
He was damn well aware that he had massive chakra reserves, way beyond kage level as a matter of fact.
So then...keeping that in mind, how much chakra would it take to drag someone like him, with his chakra reserves, back to the Elemental Nations?
Hell, he wasn't even counting the damn fox that was sealed in his stomach!
Pure frustration tore through him, his fist slamming into the cement ground as he fell to his knees, gnashing teeth harshly enough to rattle his gums.
What the hell was he going to do now?
How was he supposed to-?
"Well, yeah, he said something like that." the toad eventually concluded, not paying attention to the blond's mood. "He also said that if any of the toads should ever be contacted by our summoner again, then we should tell him to be patient, since he and Shima-baa-sama were going to try and gather a lot of chakra to help make it possible to bring him-"
Blinking, horizontal bars checked it's dangling feet, confused to find them off of solid ground, unsure why-
"You..." it heard the teen in front of it growl, his blue eyes flashing with barely repressed anger.
Weird. Why was he so angry?
"...Mention that earlier, you damn brat!"
Naruto took a deep breath, centering himself after getting thoroughly frazzled.
Honestly, if the not-even-an-adolescent toad had just played a prank on him, then he'd have to congratulate it on a job well done.
But, sadly, he was pretty sure that it's childish mind gave it trouble when trying to remember some details.
And stuff.
Still, did the little toad actually have to laugh at Naruto's yell?
Seriously...the shinobi sometimes felt that every kid that he's come into contact with have either laughed or retorted angrily back at him when he got angry at them.
He wasn't sure whether he was good or bad with kids...
...Ugh, he remembered once when Sakura-chan wondered whether kids were at ease with him because he acted like one.
A low blow to a thirteen year old, no doubt.
Naruto's visage fell a bit at the thought, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Damn it...
He missed them. Everyone in Konoha.
How were they holding out without him? Were they rebuilding by now? Were they looking for him?
Were they preparing for what was to come?
The shinobi had no idea, be he at least hoped that they were doing alright.
It pained him to think that maybe something bad had happened in his absence, and if something did, he wasn't sure whether he could forgive himself for it.
...Which was why he was confused.
'We're on personal business you could say, for why else would we be so far away from home?'
Deep inside, when he heard those words, it had instantly sparked memories of leaves, brushing past him as he walked down bustling streets with a grin, animatedly talking about something and nothing with his teammates, and an indulgent sensei.
It sparked a longing that he didn't know that he had.
...But that wasn't all that it sparked.
To his confusion, and to his shame, he felt a twinge of uncertainty appear at the very edge of his awareness.
Even worse, it spawned...a hesitance that he never had until then, aimed at the prospect of going back home.
Naruto, frankly, was pretty damn concerned about why he should feel hesitant about going back home.
What he was doing here, was helping out the friends that he had made in this world, but it was only supposed to be temporary, until he managed to find a way back.
So...why?
Blue eyes wavered, stuck in indecision, wondering for a moment whether he'd gone and got too involved with this world.
Then that oceanic colored gaze steeled.
He didn't have time for this.
Not for these doubts, or even his stalling for that matter.
The time to leave hasn't arrived yet, nor would it be for a while now, since the cost of taking both; himself and the biju within would be massive from this world.
He would think on this, but he wasn't just here to summon the toads.
No, he was also here to get some work done, so for now...
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
Several copies of the stationary shinobi appeared all around him, stretching their arms and shuffling closer to their creator so that they could get assigned.
"Hey! You guys over there! Continue working on that seal, we need some kind of insurance just in case we lose control over ourselves again! You! Take a batch of clones and begin the super-top-secret project that I just came up with! And for goodness sake...someone please master that damn fire seal already!"
Giving orders left and right, several copies sprinted off throughout the dense machinery of the factory, aiming to complete their tasks with the limited time frame that they've got.
And, of course, they knew what their boss would be focusing on.
Huddling up with the rest of his corporeal copies, Naruto met all of their expectant looks with one in return, nodding at the difficult task ahead of them.
"We're... he drawled lowly, raising his fist in determination. "...Going to master the Futon: Chakra Mode. Everyone ready?"
No words were spoken in response.
All that was left was action, and the sound of wind ripping through the air itself.
Sona crossed her legs, pursing her lips as she took a sip from her cup. "...Excellent tea, as always, Akeno."
Behind her, the Gremory group's queen bowed her head a tad, her lips twitching upwards. "You're too kind, Sona-kaichou."
Taking a chance to take one last sip, she lowered her cup daintily onto the coffee table as soon as she was done, eyes zeroing onto her fellow high-class devil. "Rias. Do you know why I'm here?"
Rias, in the midst of doing some paperwork in regards to the territory that she ruled, lifted her eyebrow as her pen hand continued scribbling. "Not necessarily. The school day hasn't even started yet, and I'm trying to get some work done before we have to get to class. I don't recall any plans for meeting with you, so..."
"Don't worry." Sona folded her hands together onto her lap. "We didn't have any prior arrangements, but I figured that this was a good time to reestablish the fact that we really should try and renew our contact with the Underworld. It's...well, I wouldn't say urgent, but we should really should just in case we actually have to for whatever reason."
That and the idea that they had no contact with the Underworld was...somewhat embarrassing.
It wasn't like either of them were too worried, since the both of them were actually quite sure that they would've heard from their older siblings if anything too...troubling happened.
That being said, a whole three days without getting any contact was beginning to push her to action, whether Rias wanted to participate or not.
She must've seen this resolve in her features, since Rias didn't even bother trying to convince her otherwise. "...Right. The moment that school's over, we'll give it another shot. If we don't get anything, then I suppose we should actually go to the Underworld and check, shouldn't we?"
Adjusting the glasses on her nose, the king of the Sitri group couldn't agree more with this plan.
Best to do it when they had more time on their hands.
Mentally switching gears for a moment, Sona cupped her chin with her hands, tapping it with an errant finger. "Shifting topics for a moment, I was wondering; have you been into the Student Council office yesterday after school, Rias?"
Her pen hand finally stopped moving at the query, the red-head lifting her head to give her old friend a look. "...No. Why?"
Straightening her back, the Sitri heiress crossed her arms and sighed. "Oh, nothing. It's just that...it felt like some of the items on my desk were moved around. I tend to be pretty organized, and yet some of my paperwork were...'shifted' from their pile."
"Shifted?" the Gremory high-class devil echoed.
"A millimeter or two. Yes."
Rias leaned back into her seat, looking like she wanted to say so much more, but didn't have the energy to do so. "...I see. Well, isn't it possible that you...maybe just shifted it when you passed it by?"
That was the logical assumption here, right?
"Impossible."
Of course it wouldn't be that easy.
"I'm very thorough when it comes to these things." Sona insisted, frowning. "There's no way that I'd accidentally move some paperwork by passing it by. That's how messes are made, and that's we lose paperwork. I'm sure that you've learned that yourself, haven't you, Rias?"
Wincing, the red-head had to give her that one.
She hasn't done it recently, but she has been guilty of losing important paperwork in the past.
Cheap shot to bring that up after all of these years though.
About to make her displeasure known, the high-class devil opened her mouth to complain, until she heard the front door leading to this room creak open.
The trio of devils turned on the spot to see another red-head peek inside the room, somehow managing to make a mix of nervousness and determination that only Asia could pull off.
"Mio-san?" Sona ventured, looking plainly confused to see her at all. "What are you doing here? Classes don't start for another half an hour."
Indeed, Sona and Rias had occasionally gone to Kuoh Academy early, usually to deal with some issue or another that had to do with the supernatural.
But for what reason did the half-devil have to come here so early?
"Mio-chan!"
At least she managed to receive a clue when she heard the older red-head chirp their kohai's name with enthusiasm.
"Rias-sempai." Mio murmured softly, timidly even. "I...well, I was hoping that we could-"
The half-devil couldn't really get another word in when her sempai suddenly teleported in front of her face, that same unnerving sparkling effect that she had last time in her eyes when she grabbed the both of her hands with her own.
Behind her, Sona felt her jaw slam the floor.
While Akeno simply took it in stride, daintily covering her mouth with her hand, failing miserably to stop the small smile from reaching it.
Mio squirmed a bit when the attention of the three devils in the room concentrated on her, her cheeks pink.
Thankfully, Rias figuratively and literally began to drag her out of the uncomfortable situation by pulling her into another room, not even bothering her to ask her for her consent.
The student council president stared as Mio was bonelessly taken into one of the spare rooms, the door closing behind them as soon as her dragging feet was secured inside.
...
"I think I'll take my leave for now." the Sitri heiress decided on the spot, smoothly getting up from her seat.
Her decision was pretty much a foregone conclusion after she saw her friend just drag a teenaged girl into a room with sparkling eyes.
That was simply something out of a horror flick.
"I wouldn't blame you if you did." Akeno agreed sagely, offering her an apologetic smile. "Nevertheless, I hope that you could forgive her for her...eccentric support for Mio-chan. She's been over the moon that Mio-chan sought her out for help with something like a first crush, she hasn't stopped talking about since last night actually."
Flicking her violet orbs to the door that the two red-heads went into, the Sitri heiress could definitely believe that the older of the two was more than a little excited to help.
So she shrugged. "I'll try not to hold it against her. That being said, I'll see you later, Akeno. Try to keep your king in line, if you can."
Forming a wicked smirk, voluptuous teen shrugged. "I'll do my best. Even if it is a full-time job."
Sona didn't retort to that, no matter how much she reallywanted to.
It was only as the young woman was leaving, escaping the confines of her friend's base, that she allowed herself to really wonder.
Was she really just being paranoid? Thinking that someone might've entered her office space?
At first, she was positive that she was correct, but now that Rias had voiced her doubts, the Sitri heiress felt her own rise in response.
Deciding to let the matter drop for now, Sona made her way back to her own home base, prepared to send out the pamphlets for the Ball Tournament to the school body's many clubs.
The date has been determined after she had made sure to go through the administrative board, giving her the green light to truly advertise the event to everyone.
However, since the event was originally going to be scheduled this week when it was being formalized as a concept, that meant that the board couldn't justify as much time to prepare for the festivities as planned.
They had other scholarly events lined up after all.
Thankfully, everything that's really needed for the Ball Tournament has already been gathered, all that's really needed is to inform the student body and to decorate, which is something that the Student Council could accomplish without too much trouble.
She just hoped that the week would be relatively calm for once...
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!"
Let it be known to all that Naruto wasn't the best when it came to time management.
Like now for example.
The shinobi was so focused on his training earlier this morning, that he nearly blew past Kuoh Academy's morning bell.
Hell, he was pretty sure that it was going to ring in about a half an hour, so he didn't have much time to waste.
That may seem like plenty of time, and it really was for the blond, but he had to make some pit stops before he actually got back.
It'd be a miracle if he actually managed to get to class in time.
Which was why he was sprinting at an incredible pace, at least for regular human beings, with his school uniform thoroughly ruffled.
Not that he cared really, he was more focused on the stores that he was racing past, looking for something specific among the many options that were presented to him.
He didn't need rugs.
Or futons.
Or wooden furniture.
And definitely not a blow-up doll.
Who even bought those things anyway...?
Deciding not to follow that train of thought, the shinobi didn't stop 'running' towards his next destination, hoping to find something before he reached it.
Blitzing past a light in an intersection, and nearly giving a driver a heart attack when his form literally blitzed past his vehicle as he was going through the green light, he would finally find a store that was somewhat satisfactory.
Skidding to a halt in front of an apparel store, the spiky-haired youth trudged in with sharp eyes, looking for something very specific in it's selections.
He completely ignored the cashier that was laying on his ass reading the paper, looking for all the world like a classic lazy salary man.
Scanning the many purchase options given to him, he made sure to check his internal parameters to see if the items he was looking through actually matched what he needed.
Well...not needed, but he really wanted it.
Finding this thing might make things a lot better after all.
Lips flattening in concentration, the teenager continued to look around, hoping against hope that this little article of cloth was even being sold in Kuoh Town.
It was a pretty small town, so he didn't exactly have high expectations.
So after a few more seconds of searching, the teen breathed out in resignation, accepting the unfortunate fact that the item he was looking for may not be around here.
In this little shop at the very least.
Still, he had to ask the shop owner just in case, just to make doubly sure that this item really wasn't here.
Moving up to the front of the desk that the cashier was lazing on, the blond pinned the presumed owner with a look, awaiting the inevitable question that he was going to eventually elicit.
That's usually what happened when he stared at someone for an extended period of time anyway.
But this guy seemed like he was one of those obstinate 'I'll pretend that I don't see you' types, since he continued to scan the pages of his newspaper without sending him a glance, seemingly absorbed.
No worries though, he'd call the guy's bluff.
Eventually.
Staying there, leaning in a bit against the counter, Naruto quickly got bored with just staring at the unresponsive clerk, making his gaze wander.
Specifically, onto the merchandise that was available behind the unresponsive man.
Where the blond saw something that made his eyes widen.
"That's it!"
The clerk jerked, threw the newspaper onto the ground, and went rimrod straight. "Uh-! Good morning, precious customer! How can I help you today!?"
Blue eyes blinked.
Wait...
"...Did you not notice me this entire time?" Naruto questioned, his incredulity obvious.
Seeing the lost look that the young man behind the counter was sporting was more than enough of an answer to his query.
...
Well shit.
It looked like that his patented 'annoy the hell outta someone until they acknowledged you' needed some work.
Either that, or he had become less annoying as he got older.
Hmm...
Who'da thought it?
Mio really should be writing some of these things down.
Honestly, while she wasn't sure how her sempai would advise her, she was honestly getting some useful information out of this talk.
"Of course, since you won't tell me who your crush actually is, I can't give you any specific tips. Only general ones that affects most males in general." Rias continued on with her lecture, in 'teacher mode'. "Like; appealing to their ego, or their sense of chivalry. In general, plenty of boys like to feel that they've done something to please their significant other. And usually, there's nothing worse that you could do to someone in the gender of the masculine variety than question their usefulness to someone they care about."
So, to put it simply, a lot of guys liked to feel needed?
How interesting.
Then again, if women had egos, then it stood to reason that men had those too.
Mio just never really thought about it.
"So!" the Gremory heiress exclaimed, clapping her hands together, a certain glint in her eye. "Can you tell me anything specific about this boy that caught your interest? Anything at all? If you do, then I can actually give you something specific instead of vague to ensnare him."
The younger red-head decided to ignore the use of 'ensnare' entirely and simply focus on what her sempai wanted from her.
Even if she knew on some level that the high-class devil was also fishing for more information to piece together who she was planning to ask out.
Her curiosity was obviously getting the better of her here.
...Who she was going to ask out.
Who she was going to-
Oh god, she was going to ask Naruto out on a date.
Trying to kill the flush of her cheeks, she decided to be general as possible. "He's very kind."
Nailed it.
"...That's it?" Rias asked with a frown, crossing her arms. "Come on, there has to be more to it than that. I mean; what about him caught your interest?"
Mio blinked.
What about him caught her interest?
Boy...
First off; it wasn't like she was asking him out because she wanted to get together.
Of course not.
This was to get to know him better.
That was all.
At least, that's what she kept telling herself.
As for her sempai's question, which was left hanging between them with as much subtlety as an elephant using trumpets...
Well, she thought about it for a bit.
What exactly drew her to him?
Several things came to mind the second that she gave the idea some serious thought.
His magnetic personality and charisma, both of which made anyone feel like they were beside someone larger than life could permit.
It made someone insignificant feel like they meantsomething.
His confident 'we can do it' attitude, which made even the daunting of tasks seem like a plausible goal.
Or his empathy, that could allow him to connect to people in such a way that could spurn people to be better.
No.
Altogether...there was one thing that could meld all those things together.
A simple statement, a simple phrase that explained the 'what' in a satisfactory manner.
For herself at least.
And when he managed to form those words in her head, it unintentionally spilled out through her lips, their importance not lost to her at all.
"He pushes me to be the best that I can be." was all she said.
Then, after a spare moment, she realized that she actually verbalized it.
Raising her head, she wasn't sure what she'd see in her friend's expression.
Indeed, she was right to be cautious.
Since all she saw was stars in her eyes.
"That's so cute!" she gushed, unable to contain herself. "Mio-chan, you've just made me more determined to help! You'll ensnare this guy, no doubt!"
She used 'ensnare' again...was this a devil thing?
"And if he hurts you in any way, just tell me, and I promise that I'll make him disappear."
Maybe Mio should tell Naruto to watch his back for a little bit...
"Ah, by the way." Rias shifted gears, moving away from the topic of assassinations. "Have you changed your hair because of this crush of yours as well?"
The half-devil squinted, tilting her head in confusion. Her lack of understanding flashing in her pupils.
The Gremory heiress pointed a digit at her, or more specifically, at the top of her head. "Well, normally you'd tie your hair into twin-tails, but instead you've let your hair down for this entire time. So..."
Mio raised her hand and brought a few strands of her vibrant red hair to the fore, raising it for inspection.
Yeah, her sempai was right.
Ever since the ribbons holding her hair up was burned up by that asshole of a devil in their fight, she hasn't tied up her hair at all.
It wasn't because she was trying to impress anyone though. "I can't. I don't have other ribbons."
"You don't?"
Mio shook her head. "I only had one pair, and that pair...well, it meant something to me. So I didn't bother to get another one."
The Gremory heiress gazed upon her kohai curiously, wondering if that black ribbon really meant much to her.
But she didn't have the chance to think on it much more. "Also, the guy I'm trying to ask to dinner is kind of...dull, so what do I do to deal with that?"
Rias said nothing, for all of about five seconds.
Then she grinned, getting back into it. "Right. So this is what you do..."
Yuki was a little nervous.
As much as she'd like to attribute that nervousness to being late to school, she couldn't.
Not without lying to herself.
To be perfectly honest, being late to school was probably among the last things on her mind, with the coming meeting with a certain blond replacing it as a higher priority.
She didn't know why it made her nervous, especially when he came to her house once before, albeit unannounced, but it did.
For some reason, this specific instance made her heart hammer more than any other in recent memory.
Which was why the young hero was distracting herself by creating a chart of her current symptoms, hoping to narrow down which disease was ailing her.
Marker in hand, a plain white board in front of her, and a silent determination to find out what was going on spurred her on with this action.
Yuki popped the marker's cap off and began jotting down her 'symptoms'.
First; an uncomfortably tight feeling in her chest, which eased and grew stronger depending on proximity to him.
Second; a heat that pooled into her cheeks whenever she was close to him him.
Third; a loss of breath that could, once again, be attributed to him.
And, perhaps the most infuriating symptom; the feeling of nervousness that prevailed whenever she knew they were going to see each other.
Her thoughts would always drift to whether her clothes were appealing, if her hair was alright, whether she smelled or not, or if she was acting too awkwardly.
Every time.
Yet...she didn't dislike it, if that made any sense.
Strangely enough, these symptoms weren't constant like other diseases she were aware of, and in fact, only activated in regards to a certain spiky-haired troublemaker.
That fact worried the hero a little, making her seriously wonder...
Did she have a strange new type of disease? Perhaps a mutation of some pre-existing ones?
Because she was pretty sure that there were no listed sicknesses that had symptoms as she did.
So just what was wrong with her-?
"Mornin', Yuki!"
Sakuya materialized in the palm of her hand and was swiftly brought to bear upon the board in front of her, making passes across it's flat surface mercilessly.
Within a single second, the board fell onto the floor as several tiny pieces, completely destroyed and unreadable to anyone that tried to look at it.
Yuki took a breath, let it out, de-materialized Sakuya, then turned to the blond that was temporarily left stunned silent. "Good morning, Naruto. How are you?"
Naruto, who had seen himself in through her door, wasn't sure what to say, so had instead opted to glance around uncomfortably.
The small home, which externally had a western style theme to it, was, internally at least, a 'Japanese' home.
The floors had tatami mats instead of tiles or rugs, the doors inside slid instead of opened or closed, and the light bulbs were replaced by simple Japanese-themed lanterns.
It was pretty unique, if the whiskered teen thought about it.
But he couldn't really ignore the elephant that was in the room so easily, even if he wanted to. "...Uh, hey Yuki. Look, I'm not sure what that board did to you, but I'm sure it didn't deserve that...pretty brutal slice and dice."
Yuki didn't hesitate to retort. "It did deserve it."
Naruto said nothing for all of about five seconds.
"...Did it now?"
The hero nodded firmly. "It did."
Huh.
Well that was a thing.
Deciding to chalk this strange incident as yet another thing that he didn't understand about his almost humorously stoic friend, the shinobi gracefully changed the subject. "So, you ready to name this new club of ours, Yuki?"
The hero, whose back was tensed up, immediately let the tension in her form disappear into nothing, the faintest twitch at the edge of her lips hinting at how ready she actually was. "Yes. I'm ready."
Grinning, the blond moved closer to her, prepared to bounce ideas with the other teen so that they could reach a badass name for, what he hoped, would be a badass club.
At least that was the idea, until he saw the bluenette raise her hand to stop him short.
"That being said..." she murmured, glancing down at the floor, her hands going down to bunch at her pajama pants.
Wait.
Why was she still wearing her pajamas?
"I-I was wondering if we could do...that thing now."
Hmm?
Hmmmmm?
"That thing?"
"...That thing."
Naruto swallowed a lump that formed in his throat without warning, a creeping feeling crawling up his spine. "Wait. What's that thing? What the hell is that!?"
Yuki bit the bottom of her lip, her eyes hooded when she looked up at him. "...Like with Yasaka-san. You promised."
...
Oh.
Unbidden, a memory of a beautiful blond woman entering the baths that he was in came to mind, washing his back as he burned like the sun in embarrassment.
Then, he clearly remembered a strangely forlorn hero prodding him, asking him why she could wash with him when she herself couldn't.
The only way he managed to appease her was by promising her that they'd get to bathe together once, at least.
Well...it looked like now was the time.
"Wait." he raised his hand, feeling this visit go completely out of hand. "We have class soon, if we do this now, then there's absolutely no way that we'd make it to class on time, ya know?"
There.
That line of reasoning, should've been more than enough to convince the goody-goody Yuki to back off from this for the moment at least-
"I don't care."
$&) %!?
Naruto's jaw must have hit the ground loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear, but Yuki was completely unconcerned about that. "Naruto...I don't know what's been going on with me recently. But I know that, ever since Yasaka-san got to bathe with you, that I've been wanting to do the same. I want to feel close, Naruto. And you're the first friend I've ever really had, so..."
She trailed off there, looking more lost than anything else, unsure of how to proceed.
All she knew was that this felt right to her, and that she'd feel closer to him if she did this.
As close, if not closer, than the yokai faction leader herself.
Even now, just thinking about that beautiful woman placing her hands onto her friend's naked back to wash him...stirred something within her.
A deep and unsettling feeling that left her breathless, similar to how she felt when she was around Naruto.
Except...this was somehow extraordinarily unpleasant.
She didn't like it. Not one bit.
But with this, Yuki was confident that she would be able to become even closer to Naruto, closer than anyone.
At least, that's what she had managed to understand about the act of skinship and it's properties.
So, with a determination befitting that of a hero, the young woman tugged on Naruto's unresponsive form, grasping his sleeve, and began dragging him with her towards their next destination.
It wasn't until the shinobi was brought to the entrance of the bathroom that he managed to snap out of his stupor. "Uh..."
"We're doing this."
And that was that.
Yuki was completely adamant in doing this now, and the blond had made a promise to allow her to do so.
Raising his chin up as he faced his destiny, Naruto was at least going to make damn sure that he was going to face this newest development with the air of a defeated samurai.
Nothing less was going to be enough for this.
At least, he thought so up until the bluenette in front of him dragged him inside the bathroom, closed the door behind them, and then proceeded to pull her shirt over her head.
Face growing hot, the shinobi grit his teeth and defiantely looked the other way, wondering how he could be so affected by the sight of Yuki's sizable breasts being contained in a white and blue bra when he'd seen worse.
Seriously, he's invented the Oiroke no jutsu by looking through porn magazines as a kid, went through several brothels with his perverted master, and has met plenty of gorgeous women that liked to show off their cleavage.
Konoha's current Hokage notwithstanding.
So why the hell was blood rushing towards his cheeks as he witnessed Yuki pull her pajama pants down?
He only pondered this question for a fraction of a second, until the hero in front of him turned to him, her cheeks flushed.
It was only when his blue orbs met her yellow ones that a possible answer reached him.
Those eyes.
It was those eyes.
Peering into the window of his friend's soul, the shinobi was able to see many things reflect in those pools of gold in front of him.
Most of them were too hard to pinpoint out specifically, but there was one feeling that shone out more than the others.
The passion that were exhibited in those orbs of her's, aimed at him, stewing under the surface.
That alone, made him flare up more, unable to help himself.
He remembered seeing a look like that only once before in recent memory.
From Yasaka, when she was washing him during his stay in Kyoto.
"Naruto." Yuki murmured, her arms modestly covering her underwear clad body as she pursed her lips. "...Can you hear it?"
Throat dry, the shinobi attempted to give a response. "...Huh?"
The hero opened her mouth, closed it, then placed her hand on her chest, her breathing becoming shallow. "...It's loud. My heart. It's beating so fast and hard that it feels like it could come out at any moment."
Naruto didn't respond, couldn't respond, since his focus was shifting from her strange words to the hand that was dangerously close to her scarcely covered chest
Ah.
Shit. Down boy.
This was Yuki, damn it.
In a daze, the bluenette shuffled closer, tugging at his clothes, eyes hooded as she looked up at him. "Come on...you have to strip too."
Naruto gulped.
This...he wasn't sure if he was terrified or ecstatic.
Issei quickly realized that this wasn't going to work.
To be frank, he actually realized this yesterday.
But it turned out that Asia was really good at convincing him to do things that he would normally scoff at.
Especially when she gave him that puppy-eyed look that she had mastered hands down.
Damn.
He turned into putty when she pulled that.
Still, the prospect of taking in a teenaged guy into his home in the late evening proved to spark many questions from his thoroughly worried parents.
'Issei...has your perversion grown to such levels that you'd be willing to drag young men into it!?'
Damn it all! How low did his mother think of her own son!?
Issei just sighed by this point, already tired as he trudged his way towards school, doing his best to ignore the talking next to him.
"Hmm...this place is so...open. Are there any walls surrounding the town or anything? Any kind of defenses?"
"Walls? Defenses? Um...no, I don't think so. Japan is very peaceful, so I don't think anyone even thought about it."
"But what if someone has hostile intentions? Surely it's best to have some kind of preparation just in case. I remember that my home had some kind of defenses, even when everyone was sure that no one could actually reach it..."
"Oh! Do you remember something about your home, Basara-san?"
"...No, just that it was protected, and that I didn't stay there. Sorry."
On a normal day, Asia was usually walking beside Issei as they made their way to school.
However, unlike usual, there was another addition to their standard morning group.
Wearing a spare uniform that Issei had, a young man with shaggy brown hair and piercing emerald eyes was methodically walking beside them, doing his utmost not limp or show any signs of his weakness.
After being bedridden for an extended period of time, it was kind of hard for him to just walk around without feeling his cramped and sore muscles protest each step of the way.
Still, something ingrained in him rebelled at the idea of allowing his pain to be shown.
By that point, Issei finally relented and turned to look at the other male, his eyes dull. "I know I sound like a broken record by now, but you seriously don't remember anything? At all? Not the supernatural, or Kyoto, or even of your fight there?"
The new member of the community of supernatural-aware teens scrunched his slightly thicker than normal eyebrows, rubbing his cranium. "...I'm trying to remember, but all I really know is that I once lived in a village that was well-protected, and that I was training to be...something."
"That's it?"
Basara shrugged. "For now, yeah. Besides that, everything is...blurry."
Issei shared a look with Asia, seeing his concern reflected off of her green irises.
Amnesia was never a good thing.
"Well, we've got to take you to see Buchou anyway. She might be able to help you out, hopefully." the pawn informed helpfully, turning to look ahead.
Honestly, it was just his luck that Asia wanted to give one last check up on Yuki's formerly unconscious friend before they left, only for him to wake up then and there.
His luck was only exemplified more when Buchou and the rest all left by that point, with the red-head entrusting him to lock the door on the way out.
So...yeah.
His luck was shit.
Sighing for, perhaps, the third time in the last half an hour alone, the reincarnated devil idly wondered whether a certain blond, whom he knew had similar luck, was doing better than him today.
Sometimes Naruto wasn't sure whether he had the shittiest luck in existence, or whether he was the luckiest son of a bitch to ever walk the earth.
Or, maybe, he had such bad luck that it went right back around to good luck?
Hmmm...
The shinobi had such thoughts swirling in his head as he used his hands to cover his manhood, crouched naked as he sat on a small stool, trying not to squirm.
No matter how he looked at it, he was in a bit of a precarious position.
Internally, the blond wasn't exactly opposed to having a bath with the hero, not really.
He was just embarrassed as hell about it.
Even more when Yuki was literally right behind him, wearing nothing but a white towel around her naked body, rubbing a bar of soap with both of her hands so that foam could cover them.
Naruto twitched as a soft finger trailed down his back, the cleansing foam left behind as it traveled south.
Following that digit's lead, soft hands covered in foam began rubbing up and down the blond's back, giving him a soothing sensation, especially with the faint callouses that existed in his friend's palms.
"...Does it feel nice?" his friend asked him quietly, her voice sounding almost breathless.
"Ah...mmm..." was all he could say, since he bit his tongue before he could groan at the nice feeling.
Heartened, she pressed her palms onto his back with a bit more strength, nails lightly scratching him in a soothing manner.
All the while, Yuki's breathing became just a tad heavier and labored as she inching closer to the warmth of her friend's back, not understanding why she just wanted to...get closer.
Why was her body on fire?
And why, oh why, did she want it to burn even more?
"Y-Yuki?"
The hero tapped her forehead onto Naruto's back, right in between his shoulder blades, taking a shaky breath as she did so.
The fire that was pooling across her belly, spreading throughout her body, suddenly grew in intensity as soon as she began to meld her body with his.
It...
It was...
Intoxicating.
She didn't even care that the towel that was wrapped around her body slipped thanks to her sudden movement.
All she cared about was getting closer.
"Yuki!?" Naruto's voice was pretty much a squeak by that point. "Oi, damn it…this…do you even realize what you're doing!?"
"Hmm…?" the hero murmured under her breath, far too busy with her ministrations to think about her words. "Getting closer, right?"
Oh yeah, she was doing that alright.
But if she wasn't careful, then she'd get a little closer than she bargained for, he was sure.
That train of thought actually managed to cool down the burning that was making it's way down south to his groin.
That was right.
Yuki probably had no idea what she was doing right now, especially if this went any further.
She just wanted to get closer to him, and this was what she saw as the way to do it.
But if they went further than this…
Well, the blond was more than positive that she'd probably regret going that far, if not now, then later on.
He wasn't gonna do that to her, no way in hell was he going to hurt Yuki if he could help it.
But…damn it, she owed him one for this.
Taking a deep breath, the shinobi calmed and centered himself, somehow managing to give himself a steady voice when he spoke. "Yuki…listen to me for a sec."
The hero's lips ghosted upon his bare back as she pressed herself into him even more, her light blue bangs keeping the blond from seeing her face. "…Do you want me to stop?"
Doing an admirable job ignoring the feeling of Yuki's -his friend!- chest pressing into him, especially when the slightest movement on her part made the sensation ten times better, the blond pressed on. "Y-Yeah. I don't think that this is a good idea dattebayo…"
As he was speaking, Naruto was twisting his neck, giving him the chance to see the hero tilt her head up at him, her eyes shimmering with emotion, barely kept in check.
"…Why should I?" she demanded quietly, her eyes hardening, almost accusatory. "You didn't object when Yasaka-san did it, so why-?"
Glancing away, Yuki turned away from him then, looking inexplicably down.
"Am I…just not enough?"
"…Hah?"
The disbelieving tone that was utilized made the teenaged girl slowly pan back to the spiky-haired blond in front of her, meeting his dumbfounded blue eyes.
"Oh geez…is that what this is about?" Naruto shook his head, despairing over the situation. "Yuki…you don't have to compete with Yasaka-san, you do know that, right?"
But when he tried to emphasize that point by locking his focus with her's, all she did was stubbornly flick her head to the side, away from him.
Naruto's eyebrow twitched.
He shifted to meet with the hero's eyes again, hoping that she'd-
She then flicked her head to the other side of the bathroom, a pout formed on those slightly puffy lips.
"Yuki, don't be childish."
Her response was a thoroughly unashamed silence.
Making sure to take a deep breath before taking action, the shinobi resolved to grab and keep his friend's attention.
So, with careful precision, Naruto fully turned around and extended his arm.
All Yuki felt by that point was rough fingers gently grasping her chin with a tenderness that she didn't expect, angling her head so that they could return to face a pair of determined blue eyes.
Swallowing the lump that entered her throat, she found herself entranced by his eyes again.
She said it once before, but his eyes were honestly very-
"Hey…you know that you don't have to compete with Yasaka-san…right?" she heard him ask of her, searching her features. "Do you know why though?"
The hero pursed her lips, staring up at him, expectant.
Naruto grinned at her, a wry fondness in those features of his.
"It's because I treasure what we've got, Yuki."
Yuki felt her cheeks heat up again, and, unsure of how to respond to it now that she had her friend's undivided attention, she hid her head by pressing it against his naked chest.